Rishi Sunak has promised to bring in new laws to tackle illegal immigration, saying anyone who comes to the UK illegally will not be allowed to stay.

Making a raft of announcements in the Commons, the prime minister said the legislation would be introduced early next year and mean people who do not come to the country through legal and safe routes “will be detained and swiftly returned either to [their] home country or a safe country where [their] asylum claim will be considered”.

He said those coming illegally would “no longer be able to frustrate removal attempts with late or spurious claims or appeals” and, once removed from the UK, “should have no right to re-entry settlement or citizenship”.

But he pledged to work with the UN Refugee Agency to create more legal routes “so the UK remains a safe haven for the most vulnerable”.

Mr Sunak added: “The solution shouldn’t just be what works, but what is right. It is unfair people come here illegally.

“Enough is enough.”

But Labour attacked the government announcement as merely “gimmicks”, while the Liberal Democrats said the plans would “weaken crucial protections for victims of human trafficking and modern slavery.”

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Green Party MP Caroline Lucas also called the statement “grotesque and revolting”, while the SNP said it left them with “grave concerns” for refugees.

But among Tory backbenchers to praise the policies was former cabinet minister Simon Clarke, who called it “really strong and welcome action”.

The PM announced five key points to his plan to tackle illegal migration:

  • A new small boats operational command to bring together agencies trying to tackle Channel crossings
  • Extra resources to be freed up to increase the number of raids carried out by immigration officers
  • New sites, including disused holiday parks, former student halls and surplus military sites, to house asylum seekers – with 10,000 spaces identified costing half what is now being spent on hotels
  • A doubling of the number of asylum caseworkers and a streamlined process – with a promise to abolish the backlog by the end of next year
  • A new agreement with Albania to speed up the return of asylum seekers to the “safe” country

The PM also announced the government would be restarting its controversial flights to Rwanda to deport those arriving illegally, and that MPs would soon be able to set an annual quota “to determine our capacity” to offer refuge to asylum seekers.

“We have a proud history of providing sanctuary for those most in need,” said Mr Sunak. “Noone can doubt our generosity of spirit.

“But today far too many of the beneficiaries of that generosity are not those directly fleeing war zones or at risk of persecution, but people crossing the Channel in small boats

“Many originate from fundamentally safe countries or travel through safe countries, their journeys are not ad hoc but coordinated by ruthless organised criminals, and every single journey risks the lives of women, children and… mostly men at sea.

“This is not what previous generations intended when they drafted our humanitarian laws. Unless we act now and decisively this will only get worse.”

The announcement comes after a year of record-breaking numbers of people making dangerous Channel crossings in small boats to get to the UK, with the figure thought to have exceeded 43,000.

The government has made a specific point about the rise in Albanians coming into the country via the route, saying they accounted for more than a third of the 33,000 who crossed in the first nine months of 2022, compared to 3% of all those who crossed in 2021.

It also comes amid criticism of the Home Office over the speed in which they process asylum cases.

Figures from the department in September showed more than 143,000 asylum seekers were still waiting for decisions, and nearly 100,000 of those had been waiting for more than six months – over three times higher than in 2019.